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Pope John Paul II made a music CD?

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Last night I was watching the old idiot box(TV) with my wife and we came across an neat bit of holy trivia. We found out that the late Pope John Paul II had recorded a CD at Abbey Roads studio. Well, he never went there it seems, it was just the technical crew who did some work there. It’s called Appa Pater (Polish) “All yours” the Pope used to say.

I realize that this must be old news to some, but it was released March 23, 1999. In some on-line reviews, most people had this idea that it was going to be some form the New Age rip off that was going on during that time period. Some called it World beat, as a way to describe some of the style on this CD.

Now fast forward a few years after the Pope had pasted, some heard it again in a different head space. Most came to the conclusion that this is a great piece of music.

A independent review from Amazon
I am not Roman Catholic. I have never studied the Catholic faith. I never attended Catholic schools. I have strong and irreconcilable disagreements with the Roman Catholic church’s policies in many areas.

That said….

I have this CD of John Paul II’s voice, with accompanying music, saying prayers. I am writing this Amazon review to say that I truly find it uplifting and comforting.

After taking in some turns during that TV show last light, I just had to check out what else was on the CD. A few tunes stood out. I was a little disappointed that there was no Gregorian Chant interpretations on it, I’m a huge lover of this genre!
Vieni Santo Spirito, Padre Della Luce and Madre Di Tutte Le Genti stood out.

The lyrics are in multiple languages, so to add to it’s appeal I guess? They were based on John Paul II’s prayers, statements from homilies, etc. and integrated with an eclectic orchestration along with some nice drum beat and at times had an techno feel to it. At some points I thought they might brake into some electric House music, really! The way they weaved in and out of some Latin chants, Polish prayers, and African rhythms was outstanding!

It was even #1 on the European charts upon it’s release. Is it just me, or was I on some other planet when this happened?! Along with this mystery, I still can’t find out if this CD was done with or without the blessings of the Pope or the Vatican. Another puzzling thing about this thing. The church is great at doing things like this, now aren’t they.

Has anyone else heard of this CD or bought it in past?

Keep on Jammin’




A Tribute to Neil Young

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There was a tribute show celebrating the musical life of Neil Young that was tied into this years Luminato 2009 Festival in Toronto. The line up was fabulous and tickets were gone in no time at all! Man, I wish I was one of those lucky one!

Relive a milestone in Canadian music history.

On January 19, 1971, Canada’s legendary singer-songwriter Neil Young gave a solo concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall. Audiences there heard for the first time several of the iconic songs that would later appear on his albums, including his best-selling LP Harvest – yet the live concert recording itself wasn’t released until 2007.

I was so pissed that I didn’t get any that I put the show out of my mind. Then today I came across this site, with complete audio of the show! It was just out of the blue that I found it and i just wanted to share it with all those Neil Young fans out there. Even the lucky bastards that went to the show!

“There is in Young so much talent and so much quiet charm that he’s bound to stick around for a long time, maturing and writing and rewarding his audiences.” Jack Batten, Globe and Mail, Massey Hall concert review, January 20, 1971.

Listening to Colin James do Heart of Gold was great! He did it in a reggae format, very different. Steve Page, ex-Bare Naked Ladies front man, did his first public appearance at the tribute, since his arrest in Buffalo. He performed Journey through the Past. Sister Euclid did a cool version of Helpless. As a matter of fact, I was in downtown Toronto when we attempted to break the record for most guitarist in an ensemble playing that very song! They called it “The Great Canadian Tune!”.

So check it out, you might just find some neat new versions of an out classic there.

Neil Young just Keeps on Jammin’

So Get the Funk Out

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Get the Funk Out from Extreme is a wonderful piece of guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt (Canadian Guitarist). I’ve loved listening to this song from the first time I heard it and have enjoyed experiencing it many times after that at volume 11 on my stereo at home or in the car!

I re-discovered this beauty while researching some other ways in which to play one of their other songs, Hole Hearted.

Nuno Bettencourt, instructs the viewer perfectly on how to play this one the way he does in the video I’ve included below. I’ve tried his method and it works great until he starts doing all those crazy pull offs and tap on’s that most guitarist use. Honestly, I was never really drawn to this form of playing.

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that I don’t love hearing this type of playing! It truly gets my blood boiling in a fantastic and enthusiastic way. I kinda wish that I tried it when I was younger but …

So if you’re one of those who are of this guitar ilk, then you’ll flip over this one! Enjoy.

Keep on Jammin’

Good Times are making me feel quite old!

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Chelloooooo, remember that greeting? It’s from kid DYNOMITE!!!!!!!!!! Ain’t we lucky we got/had ’em, GOOD TIMES!

The theme song is what made we write a post about it. My wife and I subscribe to this TV channel called Deja View and it’s just full of all our old time favorite TV shows! This is one of those songs that keep running through my mind when something I hear reminds me of it.I love this theme song so much that I sing it at work every once in a while.

While bringing patients from the recovery room back to where ever they are going, I hum a few songs here and there, and from time to time, I catch the patients jumping in with words of just humming along with me! It’s a hell of a lot of fun to do this and it really helps make the patients and their family/visitors relax and feel more at home.

This classic 70’s TV show was first aired in February 8, 1974 and ended on August 1, 1979 It taught us many life lessons and helped brake down some racial barriers that existed at the time.

The cast was Esther Rolle (Florida why did they name me Florida Evans, John Amos was James Evans, Ja’net DuBois played Willona Woods(that crazy neighbour), Jimmie Walker was the unforgettable James “J.J.” Evans, Jr., Bern Nadette Stanis was Thelma and Ralph Carter as Michael.

Trivia about the show.

  • This spinoff of the TV series, Maude, centered on the Evans family. In Maude Esther Rolle had portrayed Florida Evans, the black housekeeper, but in Good Times Florida and her family were struggling to survive in a South Side ghetto in Chicago.
    • Michael doesn’t have a room. He sleeps on the couch in the living room with J.J.
    • Posters that appear in Thelma’s Room: 2 of Sly Stone, 1 of Carlos Santana
    • In a rare moment for the early episodes of the series, Thelma actually stands up for J.J. and even says how much she misses him after he leaves. I didn’t see that one coming, did you?
    • Willona states her ex-husband is named Alvin. In the fourth season he is named Ray. I did not know that!

    I have so many favorite episodes that it’s just ridiculous! Which ones do you remember the most or had a lasting memory to you?

    Temporary lay offs. Good Times. Easy credit rip offs. Good Times. Scratchin’ and surviving. Good Times. Hangin in a chow line. Good Times. Ain’t we lucky we got ’em. Good Times.

    Keep on Jammin’

    The band Peeler is coming to Toronto Aug. 21-22/09

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    I first ran into Craig when he was doing a solo gig way back in Oct. 2007 at the Arlington Hotel’s Capron’s Cavern, in Paris Ontario. The occasion was a good friends 50th birthday party. Some how my buddies wife got a hold of him and he played there that night for the event. I brought along my guitar and they wanted me to play a couple of songs, so why not get up and play!

    Anyway, playing that night Craig and I did a few tunes together and it was just the perfect little gig! We both connected flawlessly and it was brilliant. I know Craig, I’m still trying to get that night’s video that was taken!
    In all honesty Craig, I was drawn to your Vox Tonelab LE system! I did a couple of small set’s throughout the night to give the man a break.

    This modern rocker’s bio is neat to read! His style is straight forward and he doesn’t disappoint! To get a good idea of his musical format, his interview at the NOW lounge is a nice example of the guitarist background and where he is going.

    So I just want to bring Peeler into your musical experience for those unlucky ones who have not been exposed to playing. So come on out to see this guys show at Casey’s, 123 Front St W, in Toronto Aug. 21-22 to see what I mean! I know I’ll be there! I’ll be the guy with the oversize BIC lighter waving in the air.

    Keep on Jammin’ Peeler!

    I got a Match PIK for a birthday present

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    I recently received a belated birthday present from a volunteer at our hospital.

    She came up to me in my work area and told me to close my eyes and hold out my hand. I thought it was a joke and I thought it would be nice to be at the butt end of one for a change, so I did what I was told. She then dropped what seemed to feel like a piece of cardboard in my hand and excitedly opened my eyes! What I found was what looked like a match pack, but the wording on it said Match Pik?

    At that time, everyone around me was looking at me including Connie and they were all smiling. I thought wow, a pack of matches, how nice?! She then said “Happy Birthday Chris!”. I followed up with “Oh, you shouldn’t have!”.

    Upon further examination of this bright red pack of matches that I just accepted as a birthday gift, I saw the words “Jim Dunlop USA” near the bottom of it. At this point I was thinking to myself “What the hell is this?”.

    matchpik

    Looking back at Connie, she was laughing at this point and said “Open it!” When I did, I found six .88 mm grey guitar picks inside! What a fabulous gift! I’ve never seen anything quite like this before so I gave her a little hug and we all had a laugh at my expense.

    Keep on Jammin’

    The Village People are still at it?

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    The Village People, those crazy 1970’s concept band kidz, are still at it today. Songs like YMCA, Macho Man or We Want You to some music lovers, is the soundtrack to their youth! They, to some music lovers dismay, are still dancing well into the new millennium after 30 years. After a reported 85 million records sold, they must be onto something?

    Ok, I have something to admit to you all on this post. Yes, I did dance to a few of their songs at a high school dance, but in my defense, it was because everyone else was!

    The village People’s music was everywhere way back in the day. Of coarse there was still folk and rock styles playing on the airwaves but, this music had that catchy beat to it to appealed to most of the general public.

    The one thing that I want to know is, did any of them play an instruments? Actually, I don’t really care, it’s just a general question. Not that I hated these gentleman’s style of songs but, their music(the structure/configuration and level of difficulty to play live, a band in the background that is) but, sometimes it just rubbed me the wrong way. This is just me, I always look for this quality in a song while listening to any form of music.

    thevillagepeople The history of the band was always something of a mystery to me in my youth. Of coarse we did have the internet back then. When I was in high school, I remember writing very basis computer functions on a piece of cardboard that you placed into some sort of device that was attached to this OLD, HUGE computer! This was how information back then, besides from books, was read.

    During the bands hay days, I had an old buddy of mine who was really big in the disco scene. His name was Sal, and in his parents basement, they paid homage to this genre of music.

    They made this very elaborate bar they had to entertain their house guests. At first Sal had his folks buy him this MASSIVE stereo system. Now here is where it gets both bizarre and wonderful.

    Once disco started to gain more common acceptance throughout the world, he had them open up their wallet and install a disco dance floor about 1/4 the size of the one that they had in the movie Saturday Night Fever!

    The lights and how they interacted with the music that went through his stereo underneath their dance floor was a real wonder to the eyes. This device that he had was called a Light Organ. It made the lights turn on and off to the beat of the music!

    When you heard the bass, mid range or the treble sound in a song, certain lights would light up on the floor. It was really neat as a kid. (Note: this is for Chris Noto and other Rickenbacker lovers out there, in 1971 they made a guitar with this light organ technology in it!)

    The Village People’s popularity went up and down over the years, yet their songs still stay alive in the back of our subconscious … until it comes up in conversation. We may hear one of these songs being played at a wedding and we just think about the old days when we boogied on down and maybe what we wore during those times … am I right?!

    Now the question that I have for you is, did you dance to any of the Village People’s hits when you were young AND are you still proud of yourself after all these years? (LOL!)

    Keep on Jammin’

    You know the Toronto garbage strike is over when …

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    The City of Toronto and the striking outside workers union has just about reached a conclusion to their 39 day labour dispute.

    My wife and I, living in the Danforth/Beach area, have not noticed that much of a garbage issue during the strike. For the most part, people here have been stepping up to the civic plate and helping keep our little area clean for all of us. Well except for our renter Redneck Neighbors that is! Unfortunately, I’ve seen on TV some parts of the city have not been that successful. Some people here can be quite the bunch of “City’its”! (Ha!)

    As a matter of fact, last weekend I decided to drop off 4 bags of garbage at the Bermondsey Transfer station. I’ve heard that the waiting time for drop off was around an hour long. So, I brought along the Saturday Star newspaper, a coffee and some juice with me in anticipation of a long lineup.

    As I drove there, I was wondering what I would be up against. On most TV reports, you see angry citizens screaming at the striking workers. On other news clips, you see strikers screaming at angry citizens. You think to yourself, why can’t we just get along?

    To my pleasant surprise, I was the only one in line … besides the strikers that is. I slowly drove up to the gate. I was greeted by these two really nice guys. We chatted for around 3 minutes and they said ” if you want, you can just drive right on up?”. Wow, absolutely NO CONFRONTATION so far.

    Then I drove up to the gate. There were around 8-10 guys just milling around and talking. Beside them under a really big tree was about 20 strikers, just passing the time by playing cards and drinking coffee.

    The guy at the other gate was really cool. I stopped the car, got out and started a conversation with him. It was nice to see that the stories the TV stations were airing where totally opposite to what I was going through.

    Now a bunch of guys came up, around 10 of them, we shook hands, talked for a while, had a smoke, I finished my coffee and then they asked very politely “Do you have any garbage you’d like to drop off?” I then said yes and all of them proceeded to the back of my car!

    At this point, I was starting to get nervous. We are only allotted 2 bags per car and I had 4. We’ve been told through out the dispute to save all of our recycling for later date and the four bags was our total of garbage for what had been a month or more of garbage strike (maybe 6 weeks if you count when the last garbage pick up was!). I opened the trunk and they just went in and grabbed everything! I sheepishly asked if that was ok and they replied “Sure, why not?”

    So that was my big experience with the BIG GARBAGE STRIKE OF 2009! Through all of the gloom and doom that the media was portraying to us and the rest of the world, it was not as bad as they said – at least in my experience.

    The latest news regarding the garbage and civil workers strike …

    Garbage collectors were back on the streets early this morning, clearing out the trash from overflowing garbage bins after they – and other outside workers – ratified the latest settlement Thursday.

    Whew! Glad that’s over with!

    Spinal Tap on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart

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    My ever so vigilant wife found out that the Mock Rock gods Spinal Tap were going to perform 2 songs on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

    She PVR’d it, or TIVO’d for my US readers, for me and as usual, they were right out of this world!

    The 2 songs they did was from their latest album titled Back from the Dead!

    The first one was called Funky Sex Farm (3 of 4). It is an ultra modern day funk sound that is riveting from start to finish! Who says old men can’t ROCK!

    spinaltap David St. Hubbins, who is played by actor Michael McKean, is fabulous in this performance. The solo that he did was really sweet! Playing a lead while singing takes some practice and talent. He certainly has both down pat! He also has a Jeff Beck sound to his playing throughout the whole song, NICE! “Fathering your live stock” was the funniest line in the song!

    Nigel Tufnel‘s, who is played by actor Christopher Guest, guitar style in this one was simple and to the point. When the band was being interviewed in the beginning of the second song, Nigle was so funny. I just about fell off the couch!

    Next, is the bass player with the Lemmy mustache from Motorhead. Derek Smalls had a nice groove going on in this one. I was very impressed with his performance. He, like Nigel in the early years of Spinal Tap, was a simple, no nonsense kinda of player. I think some bass slapping would be perfect here.

    At the end of this one, they ventured into a genre that I never thought spinal Tap would ever enter into … they rapped. G.D. that was hilarious! The song overall fit into their wheel house and most of all it was very tight.

    The second tune(4 of 4)was a more bluesy type song called Give me some Money. They seemed to pull this one off perfectly. It’s got that Texas Rock feel to it with a 60’s keyboard oriented band sounds to it. straight forward R & R, too bad they they didn’t get all of it on the video.

    So God bless and long live the boys in Spinal Tap and hopefully many more years of mock rocking to come!

    Keep on Jammin’

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